


Why?

by SithishJedi



Category: Reylo - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 18:24:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17126456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SithishJedi/pseuds/SithishJedi
Summary: A glance across a battlefield.





	Why?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pawprinter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pawprinter/gifts).



One minute, she was looking at ruin.  
Charred stumps, dry leaves on fire, shell holes where beautiful trees used to be.  
Dust, plasma, and gunpowder scented the air, which was filled with yells, screams, buzzing of comlinks, and screeches of laser fire.  
The next, she was looking at lustrous mahogany, reflecting the flash of a lightsaber and desperation of a kind.  
One minute, he was looking at the scattered sea of white plastoid marching under Hux’s orders to victory or death. He heard the mechanical snarl of the lightsaber in his hands, and his mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood. The echoing clang of hyperdrives entering and leaving hyperspace were faintly heard above.  
She was holding his uncle’s lightsaber, crudely wielded together and notably altered. The circuits had been re-routed to use the two separate halves of the kyber crystal; the hilt was extended and now boasted two blades instead of one.  
She looked up, and he was looking into a hazel forest, lit by the flare of a lightsaber and hope.  
Time suddenly ground to a halt.  
“You...” he said so softly it could be considered mouthing.  
He seemed unable to believe she was there, maybe not as close as the Force-bond made it seem, but in the same Galaxy, on the same planet, on the same battlefield as him. And then, the carefully tucked away pain bloomed in his chest like a wound.  
It was ironic that the one person that used to embody hope for him had become so painful to think of.  
“Jedi,” he growled. “Are you here to sink with your ship? To die for the thieves and war criminals you chose over me?”  
“No.” Her composure remained undented. “I’m here to end the war.”  
Her certainty sounded almost ignorant. “Spoken like a true Rebel.” His tone was clearly dripping with contempt.  
Surprisingly, she deactivated the lightsaber and held it loosely by her side. Something sorrowful was stirring in her eyes.  
“Why?” she asked him. Such a simple word awakened even more questions.  
“The war could have already been over! There could have been peace…” And she could have been by his side. But it was far too late for anything like that. Still, sometimes he couldn’t drown out the ‘what ifs’.  
“I couldn’t let you kill them.”  
“I never asked for you to let me kill them.” His voice trembled. Why didn’t she understand? “I asked you to let them go their own way. To simply leave them. To leave the past in the past. And…” To start a future. With him. Thinking about it, it sounded ridiculous. Things like that didn’t simply happen.  
“I cannot and will not ever leave them.”  
She had just confirmed something he already knew.  
“So we’re enemies then.”  
A silence fell between them until she finally seemed to decide something.  
“We don’t have to be, Ben.”  
“What do you mean? We have chosen separate ways.”  
“We don’t need to have. Come with me. End this.”  
And she extended a hand towards him.  
This was ironic—one could even say almost comic. It was like the Force was laughing in his face. And it was the last straw.  
His jaw trembled, and he took a swing at her with his lightsaber.  
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly an aimed blow. It was more of a desperate lunge in the air beside her, done for no other reason than to make her rethink a proposal that seemed almost tempting.  
But she stood her ground.  
“Ben, stop this.” She looked at him, and it hurt.  
“No! Fight me!” he practically begged. This had to stop.  
“No.” She waved him off, almost bored.  
“Fight me!” He tried for a slash above her head. He knew eventually he would have to start attempting real blows. But he wanted—no, needed—her to hate him first.  
This time, Rey stopped his saber with the Force before it could singe a hair.  
“We cannot hurt each other through the bond, Ben. And I don’t want to either.”  
“Then what do you want from me?”  
“To stop this madness. You are the only one who can.”  
“Is this your plan, then? To use me to save your pathetic cause?”  
“Ben, this is madness.” She stared in disbelief.  
“No, no, it makes sense!” he spat “That explains everything. Why you came to the Supremacy…It was all a ruse! You lied to me! I hate you!” he roared. He somehow felt as if he was trying to convince himself, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He could think about that in nightmares.  
Before he knew it, the bond was cut, and he was left alone.  
Rey was jostled back to reality by Finn’s voice calling out her name.  
“Rey! Rey, are you okay? Is someone there?” He ran to her side, worried.  
“No, Finn. I’m fine. It was just the wind.”  
“Are you sure? We cannot leave anything to chance. You know they outnumber us.”  
“I know, Finn. But we’ll be fine.” She tried to smile at him. She suddenly remembered her obligation as a Jedi and added, “The Force is with us.”  
Whatever Finn was about to say was interrupted. Poe’s voice was heard blaring from Finn’s comlink.  
“Finn! Do you copy?!”  
“Poe?” he asked, the tone of concern in his voice increasing.  
“You have an Upsilon-class hostile incoming escorted by three TIEs. Alert the General, and then get the hell out of there!” Poe’s voice crackled. But before he had finished his sentence, a dark figure was looming over them like a ghost.  
Finn’s knees felt weak, and his voice cracked slightly on those three words.  
“That’s Ren’s ship.” Panic was evident in his eyes. “We need to go. NOW!”  
“You go. I’ll buy you time to get everyone on a shuttle.”  
“Rey, they can walk themselves! I can’t let you die!”  
“Have faith, Finn. I do. Go. They need you.” Rey tried to sound as positive as possible. The truth was, she hoped she could still bring Ben home. As pathetic as it sounded even to herself, she couldn’t let him go.   
“Rey, what do you think you’re doing? You think you can pull off a Luke Skywalker? Leave the heroics to Poe. You’re not sacrificing yourself today.”  
“Finn, I know what I am doing! I can take care of myself!”  
“Rey, Kylo Ren is going to be here at any second!”  
“What, you think I don’t stand a chance against him?”  
“No-”  
Finn was once again interrupted by Poe screaming over the comlink.  
“GUYS, ARE YOU BLIND? THE SHUTTLE IS RIGHT ABOVE YOU! RUN! THE OTHERS HAVE ALREADY JUMPED SHIP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”  
“Go. Now.” Rey nodded at him.  
“Rey-”  
“Caraya’s soul, Finn! Save your breath!”  
Finn sighed, defeated.  
“Stay safe, will you, Rey?”  
“I promise.”  
Finn ran frantically for his life, and by the time the deafening sound of the engines engulfed Rey’s ears, he was a distant blur.  
It is time.  
The ship finally landed, and the engines’ roars reduced to a purr.  
The ramp extended, and a familiar figure descended out of it.  
“Escort TIEs may leave,” he said, as he finally stepped off the ramp.  
He was much taller than she remembered.  
“You stayed behind after all your ‘friends’ abandoned you. Why?”  
“You have told your escorts to leave and haven’t shot me down yet. Why?”  
He tilted his head in what could be perceived as interest. Suddenly, his comlink buzzed.  
“Supreme Leader. We have the Jedi in our grasp! Kill the girl!”  
Rey raised an eyebrow, challenging him.  
“Not so hasty, General. I am negotiating a better solution.”  
“NEGOTIATING?! The time for negotiating is over. The galaxy wants action, not negotiation!”  
“Thank you, Hux. Next time I ask for your advice, I will take it under consideration.”  
A few muffled mutters were heard over the line.  
“…very well. Any following orders?”  
“Yes. Try and locate the rest of the Rebels. I want you to personally inspect that operation. Place the rest of the militia on standby.”  
“Sir, are you sure it’s a good idea to leave you alone with the Jedi? Following the events on the Supremacy, it would be…unwise.”  
“Are you suggesting I cannot handle myself, General?”  
“No, sir…just-”  
“I understand your concern. If something does happen, I leave you in charge, General.”  
An almost eerie silence followed for a few seconds.  
“…very good, sir.”  
The comlink was silenced, and the ship departed. They were alone.  
It had been a while since they last saw each other face to face. Or it seemed that way. He had changed. The bags under his eyes were more prominent, betraying sleepless nights filled with Luke, Han, his mother…and Rey. And she had changed too. She had learnt to hide her own fears in order to become the personification of hope for others.  
And there they were, alone together, their vulnerabilities exposed to each other through the Force.  
“Why didn’t you kill me?”  
Rey’s eyes widened, surprised by the question.  
“What do you mean?”  
“You woke up first. Why didn’t you kill me?”  
“I…I don’t know.”  
“Your friends hate me. You think me a monster. You wanted peace. You could have ended the war without needing to come with me. Yet you let me live. Why?”  
“I don’t think you’re a monster.”  
“Then, please, skip the niceties and proceed with what you came here to do.”  
“What?”  
“Don’t pretend. Kill me now. End the war. If what you want is peace, then I am going to give it to you.”  
“I don’t want life at the cost of death.”  
“Don’t you want to save your friends?”  
“By killing you, I don’t achieve anything except getting Hux on the throne, which wouldn’t help me at all.”  
“Then, if you’re not here to kill me, why are you here?”  
“For you.”  
He had tried to attack her. He had insulted her cause. He had told her he hated her. And still, she hadn’t given up on him. She saw through his lies. And she was still there.  
“Why?” he said, his voice cracking. He was trying to contain the pain at the back of his throat before it dissolved into tears.  
“I want you to come home. With me.”  
“With you?”  
“With me. Please.”  
He nervously took off his glove, and his hand somewhat shakily reached out. And she took it.  
The Force around them seemed to change, like iron dust around a magnet. She brought his hand to her lips and very softly planted a kiss on it. He looked up, still swallowing back tears.  
“I love you,” he exhaled.  
“I know,” she laughed.


End file.
